I had searched the forums over this morning and the only other boxed a-arms I could find was on the fabrication forum
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/fabr...oxed-arms.html



I'm sure its over kill, compared to the bracing done above, but I had access to a water jet and some time to kill.

The finished a-arms are getting powder coated now. I will post some finished pics.

 

Here are some more pictures of the a-arms boxed.

I'm not the best welder.

I did not bring the plate all the way to the end to allow for installation of the bump stop, endlink and ball joint.

If anyone is interested in doing this let me know I can have more plates made. I currently have one extra set if anyone wants them just pm me.

 

If you made more.....How much would you sell them for?

 

I'm trying to contact the water jet guy now. It would be cheaper if we could get a large order together. That way he only has to set the machine up once to cut out multiple parts.

 

I hear that!

Setup cost is the same regardless of making 1 or 1000. It just makes the final individual cost "cheaper", if you can spread the initial cost over more than just 1 single unit.

Maybe, if you wanted to, you could aim for having them made in a couple of weeks, to give time for interest to build & see how many people wanted to buy some?

Other than that, I could only see you having like 10 sets made, then HOPING to sell all 10?

I think boxed stock A-arms are a worthwhile upgrade, especially for the autocross/road racing crowd. And way cheaper than full-on tubular a-arms.

 

Has anyone tested the strength or amount of flex in stock A-arms? It doesn't seem to me like there is any benefit to reinforcing them. I think the main problem with stock A-arms is the fact that they're heavy, and now...

 

The added weight and influence on the unsprung weight (yes, the arm is partially unsprung) IMO would hurt more than the increased stiffness of the arm. unless you are ***** our racing with slicks, solid joints/heims everywhere and have a significantly stiffened up chassis w/ cage then it's useless. Any deflection that goes into the frame because of super stiff suspension components doesn't help at all. With the wet as a noodle stiffness of the spot welded unibody it really does not help a whole lot.

 

I made a simler set only diffrence is my are fully boxed.
I had plans of making selling mine but iv been to lazy to pull the templet out of the 3 ring and start. way to many projects going on. what thickness did you use?

 

Myth.

 

Lighter is better, and, although I have never held an aftermarket third gen A-arm, I can guarantee that any will be much lighter than stock. By boxing the stock A-arms, you are adding weight to something that was already heavy, and didn't really need reinforcement.

 

Do please explain, how is this a myth? With unsprung or partially unsprung parts, lighter is always better...now you call it a myth? Adding a bunch of weight without needing it or even being able to use it to it's full potential, that's a bad idea...no myth there either.

 

I will agree, this is just adding ALOT of unecessary unsprung weight.

The ears are not reinforced- the point of reinforcing them is ability to press off and on new more solid bushings without bendinmg the arm in the bushing areas.

Balljoint twist is simply controlled by a tiny bracket across the upper end- while staying as light weight a possible. These were mine I did a few years back. Even though a added just a little bit here, my car did not lack OTHER WEAK POINTS that will give far sooner than the arm will flex. My car had no weak points, it also had a major decease in unsprung weight on the spindle and brake package to far compensate for a little needed bracing. The bracing ar the ears is basically 0 added unsprung weight because it is right at the pivot. The other braclet closer to the balljoint was only 0.3 ibs each. I lost over 4 lbs on brakes on each side from the factory setup.
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/518752/6

 

I used 0.125" thick for the plate.

The weight of the arm with weld, powder coat, and bracing around the bushings (pics coming) is 15lb 4.6oz

The plate its self its 2lb 14.6oz

 

Ok here are the promised pictures.

As you can see, I welded smaller pieces in the back of the arms
to support ears when installing a bushing. I know Vetruck they don't come to the end of the arm like yours did, but I had to stop the short in order to weld those small plates in. I was planning on just putting a socket between the ears when pressing in the new bushing.


The bottom side of the arms looks like crap, I thought all of the weld slag
was removed and everything was smooth, leave it to a high gloss
finish to prove you wrong.

 

hey guys i think boxing the a-arms is a great idea,but i think there is over kill as well, i semi boxed mine but not to the extreme, just in places where i know there is a lot of flex, when i replaced my old mounts with energy suspension mounts, i was really surprised to see how much the a-arms flexed,so this is when i decided to box the a-arm where i thought might help, and was i surprised to see the difference, no flex after this.